More e-scooters need to be seized by Gardaí as the number of serious injuries continues to spiral, a retired consultant in emergency medicine has said. 

In a study published in the Irish Medical Journal, researchers concluded that e-scooter accidents are partly to blame for a “growing burden on trauma and emergency care systems”. 

It noted that in Dublin’s Mater Hospital, 380 arrived at the emergency department, seeking treatment after an e-scooter injury. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Dr Chris Luke, host of the Irish Medical Lives podcast said e-scooter users are at “much greater risk” because they typically travel at a much faster speed. 

 Dr Luke added that e-scooter users often fail to understand just how much they are at risk while whizzing along at a high speed. 

“There’s a whole culture involved and culture takes time to evolve and it takes time to change,” he explained. 

“We’ve been bicycling on penny farthings and electric pushbikes for nigh on 150 years. 

“So, over those decades, people have come to appreciate certainly their vulnerability. 

“They’ve seen years and years of road traffic statistics and tragic narratives. 

“So, I think bicycle riders are just a little bit more cautious and careful than the e-scooter riders.” 

A close- up of an electric scooter.

Last year, new rules on e-scooters were introduced; the devices are not allowed to exceed speeds of 20 km per hour and cannot be used by anyone under the age of 16. 

Dr Luke believes now is the time for stricter enforcement. 

“I think the regulations are okay, the ones that came in just a year ago,” he said. 

“It is, as always, the lag in enforcement that’s the problem. 

“What we’re really calling for is the seizure of these bikes by people who are carrying passengers on the back, who are not wearing helmets or who are on the pavement or are intoxicated and so on.”

Main image: An e-scooter user. Picture by: RollingNews.ie